Virus keeping visitors from nursing home

Published: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 04:14 PM.

The facility isn’t doing any group activities, DeFelice said. That means all dining, therapy or beauty shop services are happening inside an individual’s rooms.

DeFelice said she understands the frustration of a loved one not being able to see a resident, but said the nursing home is trying to do all it can to get its residents healthy and will lift the quarantine when it’s safe to do so.

Gaston County Health Department received a call from Stanley Total Living about a virus similar to the norovirus. The Health Department has not confirmed that it was a case of norovirus because it’s a virus that comes and goes so quickly that it’s hard to get a sample to confirm it, said Paula Whitley, the communicable disease coordinator and a registered nurse.

Norovirus is a group of viruses that cause what they used to call stomach flu, Whitley said. It has an average incubation period of 12 to 48 hours. Norovirus symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, head aches and sometimes a low grade fever.

Dehydration is a concern for both young children and older adults, Whitley said.

Norovirus can survive in both freezing and high temperatures. The virus can appear anywhere and is not a sign of dirty or poor conditions. Stanley Total Living Center has handled the situation perfectly, Whitley said.

“They have done everything that has been asked of them to do by the state, by the county, by the local Health Department. They have gone above and beyond the call of duty,” Whitley said. “It just happens. This is a very clean place.”

A local nursing home is keeping the public out after discovering some of its residents showed symptoms of a stomach virus.

Stanley Total Living Center put a quarantine in place Sunday, which means no one except staff members can visit the facility, said administrator Jennifer DeFelice. The quarantine will remain until 48 to 72 hours after the last symptoms are detected.

“This is in the best interest of our patients,” DeFelice said.

Gaston County Health Department was out at Stanley Total Living Center Tuesday morning.

“They did tell us that we have done everything over and beyond what anybody else has ever done,” DeFelice said.

DeFelice didn’t have a count on how many residents had become ill because a few residents would exhibit symptoms and recover while others became sick. Stanley Total Living Center has 130 beds, and 29 retirement apartments.

All staff members are taking precautions to prevent the spread of the virus, DeFelice said. They’re wearing masks, washing their hands frequently using hand sanitizer, wearing gowns and donning shoe coverings.

The facility isn’t doing any group activities, DeFelice said. That means all dining, therapy or beauty shop services are happening inside an individual’s rooms.

DeFelice said she understands the frustration of a loved one not being able to see a resident, but said the nursing home is trying to do all it can to get its residents healthy and will lift the quarantine when it’s safe to do so.

Gaston County Health Department received a call from Stanley Total Living about a virus similar to the norovirus. The Health Department has not confirmed that it was a case of norovirus because it’s a virus that comes and goes so quickly that it’s hard to get a sample to confirm it, said Paula Whitley, the communicable disease coordinator and a registered nurse.

Norovirus is a group of viruses that cause what they used to call stomach flu, Whitley said. It has an average incubation period of 12 to 48 hours. Norovirus symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, head aches and sometimes a low grade fever.

Dehydration is a concern for both young children and older adults, Whitley said.

Norovirus can survive in both freezing and high temperatures. The virus can appear anywhere and is not a sign of dirty or poor conditions. Stanley Total Living Center has handled the situation perfectly, Whitley said.

“They have done everything that has been asked of them to do by the state, by the county, by the local Health Department. They have gone above and beyond the call of duty,” Whitley said. “It just happens. This is a very clean place.”

Norovirus isn’t something that nursing homes are required to report, but Whitley recommends facilities report that kind of virus to the Health Department so it can offer guidance and best practices. The Health Department suggested that the nursing home limit visitors, but it doesn’t have the authority to put a quarantine on a facility, Whitley said. If a facility can keep the virus contained for a few days and do thorough cleaning, it saves a lot of people from getting sick, Whitley said.

Stanley Total Living has a two-star overall rating, according to the federal Nursing Home Compare site. The overall rating gives a one- to five-star rating based on health inspections from the last three years. Inspections look at 10 physical and clinical measures for residents like the percent of residents with severe pain or ulcers and staffing information like the number of hours of care given by nursing staff to each resident each day.

The facility’s lowest rating — one star — comes from its health inspections. It received four star ratings in both staffing and quality measures.

You can reach reporter Amanda Memrick at 704-869-1839 or follow @AmandaMemrick on Twitter.